Atheist Nexus2017-08-18T05:25:11ZKenneth Soareshttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/KennethSoareshttp://api.ning.com/files/ZQ4xWGU3UrVc16hr4V2Kryll4Igb6tWOqZceh6qxe-QwTvmrgi9*4v73q1AbYaOsyByqIyBq3oZYXErbiONrcuD0xRwpTxGrQo0mqe0Ls84_/yinandyang.jpg?width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1http://atheistnexus.org/forum/topic/listForContributor?user=0mub2e6tqhovu&feed=yes&xn_auth=noTrump is a racisttag:atheistnexus.org,2017-08-17:2182797:Topic:27607842017-08-17T20:07:57.749ZKenneth Soareshttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/KennethSoares
<p>In the aftermath of today's terror attack in Barcelona, Spain, Trump tweeted about a reported event in the Philippines where Internet legend says US General John Pershing massacred 50 Muslims with bullets soaked in pig's blood. The idea behind the myth is that Muslims don't want contact with pork products. So, the pig's blood served as an additional deterrent.</p>
<p>The problem with the Pershing story that Trump has discussed several times is that it is 100 percent false. Pershing never…</p>
<p>In the aftermath of today's terror attack in Barcelona, Spain, Trump tweeted about a reported event in the Philippines where Internet legend says US General John Pershing massacred 50 Muslims with bullets soaked in pig's blood. The idea behind the myth is that Muslims don't want contact with pork products. So, the pig's blood served as an additional deterrent.</p>
<p>The problem with the Pershing story that Trump has discussed several times is that it is 100 percent false. Pershing never rounded up dozens of people and shot them on site with bullets dipped in pig's blood. During America's occupation of the Philippines, the American military did engage in plenty of activities we would find disgraceful, but this story is simply false.</p>
<p>America has a president who responds to a terrorist attack by tweeting about things that didn't happen in order to glorify government-sponsored mass murder. On one hand, Trump can't condemn the KKK and nazis. On the other hand, he retweets fictitious stories designed to sell the idea that the mass murder of Muslims is acceptable. How can anyone deny the pathetic reality that Trump is a racist?</p>
<p><a href="http://time.com/4235405/donald-trump-pig-blood-muslims-story/">http://time.com/4235405/donald-trump-pig-blood-muslims-story/</a></p> Can People of Color be racist?tag:atheistnexus.org,2017-08-17:2182797:Topic:27607702017-08-17T12:56:11.692ZKenneth Soareshttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/KennethSoares
<p>Recently, I was denied membership in a Facebook group because I expressed the idea that people of color can be racist. Honestly, I thought everyone agreed with that. Obviously, I'm not suggesting that all people of color are racist. But I believe any person, regardless of skin color, can be racist. What do you think?</p>
<p>Recently, I was denied membership in a Facebook group because I expressed the idea that people of color can be racist. Honestly, I thought everyone agreed with that. Obviously, I'm not suggesting that all people of color are racist. But I believe any person, regardless of skin color, can be racist. What do you think?</p> Anarchists & AntiFascists protected clergy and studentstag:atheistnexus.org,2017-08-16:2182797:Topic:27606572017-08-16T17:37:04.965ZKenneth Soareshttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/KennethSoares
<p><a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2017/8/14/cornel_west_rev_toni_blackmon_clergy" target="_blank">Cornel West &amp; Rev. Traci Blackmon: Clergy in Charlottesville Were Trapped by Torch-Wielding Nazis</a></p>
<p>In this Democracy Now interview, Cornel West and Rev. Traci Blackmon say that they and 20 <span>University of Virginia students <em>owed their lives</em> to AntiFascists and Anarchists who protected them from thousands of white supremacists. Police stood aside to let neo-Nazi…</span></p>
<p><a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2017/8/14/cornel_west_rev_toni_blackmon_clergy" target="_blank">Cornel West &amp; Rev. Traci Blackmon: Clergy in Charlottesville Were Trapped by Torch-Wielding Nazis</a></p>
<p>In this Democracy Now interview, Cornel West and Rev. Traci Blackmon say that they and 20 <span>University of Virginia students <em>owed their lives</em> to AntiFascists and Anarchists who protected them from thousands of white supremacists. Police stood aside to let neo-Nazi protestors attack the antiprotestors.</span></p>
<p><span><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/7OVpih3dxfjg9TrTT7LqxP9vddfU-8Bc8*Fw2CgKOIHE6CRUTCDYj1zFyApS2SeDAY2xisNohthJzZDahzHbUNd98c3GGJKO/SCRGCharl.jpg" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/7OVpih3dxfjg9TrTT7LqxP9vddfU-8Bc8*Fw2CgKOIHE6CRUTCDYj1zFyApS2SeDAY2xisNohthJzZDahzHbUNd98c3GGJKO/SCRGCharl.jpg?width=450" width="450" class="align-center"/></a>screen grab from the video</span></p>
<p><span>Cornel West:</span></p>
<blockquote><p>The next day, for example, those 20 of us who were standing, many of them clergy, we would have been crushed like cockroaches if it were not for the anarchists and the antifascists who approached, over 300, 350 antifascists. We just had 20. And we’re singing "This Little light of Mine,"…</p>
<p>The antifascists, and then, crucial, the anarchists, because <span style="background: yellow;">they saved our lives, actually</span>. We would have been completely crushed, and I’ll never forget that. [emphasis mine]</p>
</blockquote> Raciststag:atheistnexus.org,2017-08-15:2182797:Topic:27606022017-08-15T23:03:10.482ZKenneth Soareshttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/KennethSoares
<p>Let me be absolutely, unequivocally clear: if you support Donald Trump, you are a racist. After today's press conference, there is no alternative conclusion. If you support Donald Trump, you are a racist.</p>
<p>If you work for Donald Trump, you are a racist. I'm talking to you John Kelly, Sarah Sanders, Rex Tillerson, James Mattis, and the rest of you working in the White House or the administration. If you continue to work for Donald Trump, you are a racist.</p>
<p>If you are in Congress…</p>
<p>Let me be absolutely, unequivocally clear: if you support Donald Trump, you are a racist. After today's press conference, there is no alternative conclusion. If you support Donald Trump, you are a racist.</p>
<p>If you work for Donald Trump, you are a racist. I'm talking to you John Kelly, Sarah Sanders, Rex Tillerson, James Mattis, and the rest of you working in the White House or the administration. If you continue to work for Donald Trump, you are a racist.</p>
<p>If you are in Congress and you don't support impeachment, you are a racist. Under the Constitution, the House has wide latitude for determining cause for impeachment. Personally, I believe there is enough to prove obstruction of justice, especially since Congress is not bound to the standard of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.</p>
<p>America fought the Civil War, in part, to abolish slavery. America fought World War II, in part, to eliminate nazi control over Europe. America must not soil that history by allowing a racist to serve as president of our United States. If you are in Congress and you don't support impeachment, you are a racist.</p>
<p>If you voted for Donald Trump and he is still your president, you are a racist. If you are a racist, you are far more representative of America's past than you are its future. If you are not a part of America's future, you will stay in America's past. By staying in America's past, you will become even more marginalized. As you become even more marginalized, you will once again blame others for your problems. But you need to know that racism and racist are not part of our America.</p>
<p>No matter how many rallies you hold. No matter how many hateful slogans you chant. No matter how many people you beat. No matter how many people you kill. You will not return America to its racist past. You will not stop progress. America rejects racism. America rejects racists. America rejects you.</p> Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) Is Not A Disorder, It's How A Healthy Mind Protects Itself from FurtherTrauma.tag:atheistnexus.org,2017-08-12:2182797:Topic:27598942017-08-12T09:02:35.498ZKenneth Soareshttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/KennethSoares
No one sees the body's immune response as a disorder. A healthy body uses it to protect itself from infection. A weakened body (think HIV) may succumb to infection.<br />
<br />
Similarly, a healthy mind has ways to protect itself. An intimidated mind may succumb to trauma.<br />
<br />
According to a dictionary of psychology the mind has four ways.<br />
1) A heightened alertness to possible trauma.<br />
2) An emotional distancing from trauma.<br />
3) A physical distancing from trauma.<br />
4) An acting out of some kind, such as a…
No one sees the body's immune response as a disorder. A healthy body uses it to protect itself from infection. A weakened body (think HIV) may succumb to infection.<br />
<br />
Similarly, a healthy mind has ways to protect itself. An intimidated mind may succumb to trauma.<br />
<br />
According to a dictionary of psychology the mind has four ways.<br />
1) A heightened alertness to possible trauma.<br />
2) An emotional distancing from trauma.<br />
3) A physical distancing from trauma.<br />
4) An acting out of some kind, such as a nightmare or a more strenuous act.<br />
<br />
Catholicism's insistence that I have children was responsible for some of my PTS. Awakening from a nightmare in my teens made me aware of the trauma that having to provide for children (as my dad was doing) would cause me. The terror I felt gave me the energy I needed to resolve to have no children. My Thoughts on the Firing at Googletag:atheistnexus.org,2017-08-11:2182797:Topic:27599672017-08-11T21:48:03.620ZKenneth Soareshttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/KennethSoares
<p>I've seen several conservative men say part of the problem is that not enough women are choosing to enter certain fields. The problem with this suggestion is that it overlooks some of the reasons why many women don't enter certain fields.</p>
<p>If a woman has an idea that she is much more likely to suffer sexual harassment and/or sexual assault in a certain field, she has a great reason for choosing something else. If a woman has a good idea that she will have to prove herself in ways men…</p>
<p>I've seen several conservative men say part of the problem is that not enough women are choosing to enter certain fields. The problem with this suggestion is that it overlooks some of the reasons why many women don't enter certain fields.</p>
<p>If a woman has an idea that she is much more likely to suffer sexual harassment and/or sexual assault in a certain field, she has a great reason for choosing something else. If a woman has a good idea that she will have to prove herself in ways men won't, she has a good reason for choosing something else. If a woman knows she will be paid less for doing the same work, she is justified in choosing something else.</p>
<p>The conservative nonsense that pretends women are merely choosing to stay out of certain fields ignores reality. By ignoring reality, it downplays sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexism, and wage discrimination.</p> Fossil Fuel Roots of Evangelist Climate Denialtag:atheistnexus.org,2017-08-09:2182797:Topic:27596582017-08-09T17:31:39.508ZKenneth Soareshttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/KennethSoares
<p><a href="http://splinternews.com/how-fossil-fuel-money-made-climate-denial-the-word-of-g-1797466298" target="_blank">How Fossil Fuel Money Made Climate Change Denial the Word of God</a></p>
<p>This lengthy background analysis lays out how fossil fuel corporations bent evangelical religion to climate denial.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--IB0iQktZ--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_1600/bbguynhyjtfllxrxk6e0.png" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--IB0iQktZ--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_1600/bbguynhyjtfllxrxk6e0.png?width=450" width="450"></img></a></p>
<p>The…</p>
<p><a href="http://splinternews.com/how-fossil-fuel-money-made-climate-denial-the-word-of-g-1797466298" target="_blank">How Fossil Fuel Money Made Climate Change Denial the Word of God</a></p>
<p>This lengthy background analysis lays out how fossil fuel corporations bent evangelical religion to climate denial.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--IB0iQktZ--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_1600/bbguynhyjtfllxrxk6e0.png" target="_blank"><img src="https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--IB0iQktZ--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_1600/bbguynhyjtfllxrxk6e0.png?width=450" width="450" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>The depth of systemic control over conservative religion astonished me.</p>
<blockquote><p><b><span>Conservative groups, funded by fossil fuel magnates, spend approximately one billion dollars every year interfering with public understanding of what is actually happening to our world.</span></b></p>
<p>In terms of impact, however, few investments can rival the return that the conservative donor class has gotten from the small cohort of evangelical theologians and scholars whose work has provided scriptural justifications for <a href="https://laciviltacattolica.com/june-2017/evangelical-fundamentalism-and-catholic-integralism-in-the-usa-a-surprising-ecumenism/" target="_blank">apocalyptic geopolitics</a> and economic rapaciousness.</p>
<p>... the Cornwall Alliance, formerly known as the Interfaith Stewardship Alliance, is a network with ties to politicians and secular think tanks across the conservative landscape. Members of the Cornwall Alliance and their ilk are not simply theoreticians but enforcers, stifling dissent in the wider American evangelical community, smothering environmentalist tendencies before they gain a following.</p>
<p><b>Together, Cornwall, Heartland, and Heritage have been able to set the terms of the conservative conversation—evangelical or otherwise—about the climate.</b></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another article goes into detail of "Capitol Ministries" in the chart above. <a href="http://splinternews.com/the-trump-cabinet-has-its-own-weekly-far-right-bible-st-1794471769" target="_blank">The Trump Cabinet Has Its Own Weekly Far-Right Bible Study Group</a></p>
<p></p> Atheist confirmation bias....tag:atheistnexus.org,2017-08-09:2182797:Topic:27594992017-08-09T02:59:22.946ZKenneth Soareshttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/KennethSoares
<p> I've been very careful in the last few years to beware of confirmation bias, this kept me a believer for many more years than necessary. The problem I have now is that in every other aspect of life there seems to be a at least somewhat valid "other side". </p>
<p> I have tried my best to find an apologetic stumper argument. It takes nothing to pick them apart using simple logic or science. I've been looking for just one argument that challenges me and can't find it. So I ask myself am I so…</p>
<p> I've been very careful in the last few years to beware of confirmation bias, this kept me a believer for many more years than necessary. The problem I have now is that in every other aspect of life there seems to be a at least somewhat valid "other side". </p>
<p> I have tried my best to find an apologetic stumper argument. It takes nothing to pick them apart using simple logic or science. I've been looking for just one argument that challenges me and can't find it. So I ask myself am I so entrenched in atheist bias that I can no longer think clearly? Really, even in politics if I can't stand the others point of view I find they often (though they may misrepresent the facts) can bring up a point worthy of consideration. In Christian apologetics I can find none. None at all. So am I now simply as bias as the theist? Am I right to consider that maybe since they are talking about myth that they simply have no leg to stand on and my mental facilities are indeed intact on this particular subject? Does anyone else wrestle with this dilemma? I'm looking for fact not fiction. Many argue that one must have an open mind. This often seems to me to be code for believe what I tell you, not an invitation to rational thought. As a skeptic I must also be open to accepting new information that is proven factual, and thus ready to change my outlook. Even though I study theist commentary regularly I just can't find any factual information to change my thinking. In fact the more I am exposed to it the more secure I become in my unbelief. With professional apologist I recognize their tactics, with laymen I recognize their ignorance. It kind of makes me feel like I'm a pompous know it all.</p>
<p> So does anyone else have the same experiences?</p> I'm back too!tag:atheistnexus.org,2017-08-05:2182797:Topic:27590612017-08-05T07:53:05.665ZKenneth Soareshttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/KennethSoares
<p> I was a member of the site five years ago. I didn't start believing, but I took a break from the site. I'm glad to be back. I'm happy I see so many names I remember from five years earlier. I'm looking forward to some great discussions and to making friends.</p>
<p> I was a member of the site five years ago. I didn't start believing, but I took a break from the site. I'm glad to be back. I'm happy I see so many names I remember from five years earlier. I'm looking forward to some great discussions and to making friends.</p> Is Christianity on its way out and Islam on the way in?tag:atheistnexus.org,2017-08-04:2182797:Topic:27589072017-08-04T22:01:23.263ZKenneth Soareshttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/KennethSoares
<p> Recent surveys suggest that the westernized nations are steadily becoming more secular, good news for most of us. On the other hand, third word nations are seeing a rise in theism. Unfortunately I have not seen direct demographics as to what religions are spreading the most. I have seen some references that seem to indicate that Islam is the current fastest growing religion. Evidently third world nations are outpacing population growth over westernized nations. So like it or not, theism…</p>
<p> Recent surveys suggest that the westernized nations are steadily becoming more secular, good news for most of us. On the other hand, third word nations are seeing a rise in theism. Unfortunately I have not seen direct demographics as to what religions are spreading the most. I have seen some references that seem to indicate that Islam is the current fastest growing religion. Evidently third world nations are outpacing population growth over westernized nations. So like it or not, theism world wide is in fact growing. Christianity certainly dominates Islam in western nations. The greatest, less educated populations are evidently dominated by Islam. So if this is indeed the trend, then should we expect Islam to become a more dominant religion than Christianity has ever been? With the education level of first world countries, should we expect to see a steady decline in Christianity and a powerful increase in an Islamic influence throughout the world?</p>